Chef Justin Sutherland pleads guilty to violent threats after domestic dispute

St. Paul chef Justin Sutherland pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court to a felony count of threats of violence in connection to an incident involving a domestic dispute in June.

What we know

A plea agreement entered on Oct. 21 calls for two years' probation in addition to completing 100 hours of community service. Sutherland will also undergo a chemical dependency evaluation, and be banned from possessing a gun.

A sentencing date is currently scheduled for Dec. 13, 2024.

Domestic dispute

On June 28, 2024, St. Paul Police Department officers responded to the 800 block of Front Avenue around 8 p.m. on the report of a man with a gun outside an address at that location.

According to the criminal complaint, a woman told police Sutherland pointed a gun and vowed to shoot her, choked her and struck her in the chest with the weapon. Police later determined he was not currently in possession of a weapon.

Police say they then spoke to Sutherland and the woman involved in the incident and established that a domestic assault as well as threats of violence had taken place.